Department of Youth Dev: Four officials to be sacked over Tk 13.96cr graft

The government is set to dismiss four officials of the Department of Youth Development (DYD) on charges of corruption involving Tk 13.96 crore.

The Ministry of Youth and Sports on Sunday sent four letters to the Public Service Commission seeking advice on the ministry's decision to sack the officials.

The four officials are Ali Ashraf, deputy director of DYD Barguna (previously posted as DD of finance and audit at the director general's office), Farhat Noor, DD of DYD Magura (previously posted as DD of administration at the DG office), Fazlul Haque, assistant director of DYD Jhenidah (previously posted as accounts officer at the DG office) and Abul Kalam Azad, upazila youth development officer of Gulshan (previously posted at the National Service Cell of the DG office).

Early last year, an investigation by the youth and sports ministry found 10 officials, including the four, involved in embezzling the money.

Ashraf illegally allocated the fund to a skills training programme for the young in Sylhet's Zakiganj in 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 fiscal years even though the programme ended in November 2019, according to the probe findings.

Ashraf and the others then withdrew the money and misappropriated it, reads the probe report.

Following the investigation, the ministry filed departmental cases against the four.

Considering the magnitude of the allegations, reviewing their replies to show-cause notices and considering all other aspects, the final decision has been made to dismiss the officials, said the letters, signed by Deputy Secretary Md Rabiul Islam of the youth and sports ministry.

As the PSC appoints the first and second class officers, seeking its advice on firing is a procedural requirement, DYD officials said.

They said the PSC usually gives advice in line with the ministry's decision, but the accused officials are trying to influence the commission by different means so that it advises in their favour.

The officials said the process of taking punitive actions against four other accused -- Upazila Youth Development Officer Azharul Kabir, Accountant Nurul Amin, and office assistants Babul Patwary and Jashim Uddin -- was underway.

The rest of the accused are Zakiganj Upazila Accounts Officer Kamal Hossain, and Auditor Iqbal Munshi.